Pizazz's Ravenloft and Beyond

Mordekai steps forward, and presses his hand against the amber. It seems as if he's listening for a moment.

A black bolt seems to strike Mordekai's hand.  He turns back to Lionel, a wicked smile on his face. 

Meepo's interactions with the third ruined block reveals only chunks of amber with no seeming hidden power. 

The four creatures hop about, watching Mordekai and Meepo with their single large grotesque eyes. 

Mordekai returns Meepo's whispers, "Hmm, Meepo, these are dark gifts. We should be careful what we touch. I know you like to collect things, but collecting a number of these could have any number of unknown consequences. Not least, the wrath of our Paladin friend here. We should keep moving, if we're not planning to do anything about this lot." he adds, with a subtle nod in the direction of the creatures. "Perhaps they picked up too many dark gifts and ended up like this?" 

(A pity, It liked my poor paladin!)

Lionel looked at Mordekai intently: "Last time you touched something here - you almost died, both of you. Nothing in this place is worth your life or your soul. I trust you do the right thing, but Strahd probably also thought he was just getting more powerful."

He turned and walked to the next door (the first one closed), providing one-eye creatures did not attack.

"Power is power."  Meepo tells Mordekai with a shrug. He follows Lionel to the next door.

Lionel leaves the room with both Meepo and Mordekai following behind him. The four creatures don't follow, but simply watch you depart.  You reach the next amber door and press on it.  It doesn't budge.  It seems secured somehow, though there is no lock to speak of. 

Secured - no sword. Or at least, the last one to search for it. Lionel simply moves to the next door.

Mordekai smirks a vicious smirk at Meepo's statement, figuring he should have known better than to try and dissuade him, and follows closely behind the other two.

Lionel gets to the next door, pushing the amber door open. The room within, once a bedchamber, is littered with broken furnishings. Scattered about the room are the remains of a bed, a wardrobe, two trunks, three tall candlesticks, a desk, a bookshelf, and several chairs. Torn-up books, old quill pens, and tattered clothes are also strewn about.

Lionel looked around, squinting in the darkness: Perception 13

"Rat go."  Meepo says in his soft whisper of a voice.  His familiar trundles into the room and starts looking around as well.

Perception: 12

Rat appears from nowhere and looks around. The undead cat flaps lazily into the room.  A desk drawer suddenly flies across the room at Rat. 

Attack: 7 Damage: 4

The desk drawer sails wide smashing into the wall.  Rat meows in fright.  

To Meepo : 

Mordekai sees the desk drawer fly across the room.  Having seen the horrors of the haunted house when they first arrived in Barovia, and having been frustrated by the disappearing old wizard, he has no patience for mysterious, invisible enemies any more.  He yells in frustration, an incoherent shout, and casts Faerie Fire targeting the corner of the room where the desk drawer came from - causing any creatures within a 20ft cube to glow with a sickening green light (if they fail a DC16 DEX save).

Meepo brings Rat back to his side.  "Invisible ghost." He informs the others.

9

Mordekai yells abruptly, startling Lionel and Meepo.  Then he releases a spell. 

A green glowing halo appears around a creature floating in a part of the room.  It's a woman, wearing a long robe, her face is drawn and gaunt, her eyes are black holes.  Part of her mid section appears to be missing, dripping invisible slime, looking like perhaps it was bitten out by a large creature.  Her face is twisted in rage.  She vanishes into the wall, emerging at a different point in the room.  With Rat out of the room, she doesn't throw anything else, but instead in strangely 'shuddering' movements she moves about the room with her silent screams.

Mordekai grins a twisted, cruel smile, a malice in his eyes that doesn't match his words, "Well, let's put you to rest, shall we?"

He follows up the Faerie Fire with a couple of bursts of Eldritch Blast.

Attack: 18 Damage: 10

Attack: 16 Damage: 7

Edit: Um... Wow, I guess I need to roll a couple extra d10s for that damage... 8 and 1  

The creature responds to Mordekai's words, suddenly locking eyes, and rushes directly at him, it's silent scream roaring in his head as it closes in, hand outstretched to grab him.  The two blasts rip through the spirit, the spirit dissolves as it's essence meets Mordekai, it's ghostly essence dispersing across his body like a wave of smoke. 

You move into the room and search around. It's in ruins, no more spirits.  The only thing you find of value is a scroll case on the ground.  Opening it up, Meepo sees it's a scroll of Wall of Fire. 

After spending some time ensuring there's nothing missed, no place the hilt of the sword could be, you leave and head to the next door.  The door swings open.  This room is the same layout as the last. Furnishings made of ancient, colorless wood have col­lapsed under their own weight and now lie covered with cobwebs and dust. A thorough search shows nothing of interest, so the group continues. 

The next thing is the stairway leading up.  A quick check reveals that it indeed leads up to that secret hall in the section above.  You head back down and to the door at the south. This amber door is likewise sealed and doesn't open.  

You spend a few moments examining the alcoves with statues of creatures, but discover nothing of interest.  Now where?

Updated map: 

"Lionel, with the exception of the two sealed doors, it seems we've cleared our way through this side of the temple.  If the sword was lost here, it seems to have certainly moved by now.  Was there anywhere we hadn't explored past the crazy statue that ensnared myself and Meepo?  If not, then should we begin clearing out the other side?  Or do we want to try and get through the sealed door in the main hall?"

"All I can suggest is to keep going and checking what is open. Let us go to the other side. That "black man" was there too, who knows, may be he is the one who took the sword away from me." Lione was the first one to cross the hall and enter the opposite opening.